Picture this: a pop-up food event in a warm and cozy North Portland living room, complete with rich ice creams inspired by Jewish culture and feats of family storytelling from Jared Goodman, a high school teacher turned frozen dessert daredevil. It's not a sweet tooth fantasy: it's Morgan St. Theatre, a series of edible performances featuring narrative-laden ice cream inspiration at communal tables of friends and strangers.

We spooned along at a recent home-bound event during Passover to get the scoop on the concept. The evening, dubbed “Let My People Go!”, mirrored a Passover Seder—complete with stories of Goodman's loved and eccentric Jewish relatives snuck in between seriously delicious sundaes. Think light anise ice cream served with puffy matzo brei and a lightly syrupy rhubarb shrub. Or the “Bubbe-up,” floating an almond butter ice cream in a fruity carbonated broth, sprinkled with cacao nibs and sea salt. Or a complex sorbet that turned the typically sticky-sweet Manischewitz wine into a sophisticaded flavor bomb paired with tangy apple cider gastrique.

Goodman, a jack-of-all-trades with two degrees in Jewish studies, was a high school social studies teacher before he became stay-at-home dad with a penchant for homemade sweets. When he's not hosting ice cream pop-up events in his living room, he’s promoting a Kickstarter campaign to buy a converted trike/ice cream cart on a quest to fashion himself into the neighborhood ice cream guy. 

Want to get in on the fun? Goodman’s upcoming event will see a partnership with Edible Portland at Din Din Supperclub: a flight of milky treats named for a Jewish Folk song called Chad Gadya—“One Little Goat”. The menu is set to include hay ice cream with fresh strawberries, mint oil, and challah croutons, toasted sesame seed ice cream with ras el hanout-spiced cookies and honey sauce, and the Goat on Goat on Goat (Portland Creamery chèvre and goat milk ice cream with cajeta—goat milk caramel). Locally sourced goat milk, wine from the Portland Wine Shop, and live bluegrass and clarinet music await! RSVP and buy tickets online. May 15 and 16. $30. 8pm. din din Supper Club, 920 NE Glisan St.